Ice Study

Owen shook his head. "You would sacrifice your bother and heart mate to keep me from obtaining what is rightfully mine?"

"Obviously." Frustration and fear twisted tight inside me. "You've claimed you want to keep the power blanket safe from the Commander, but I don't need to read your soul to know you just desire all the world's magic for yourself." And would trap millions of peaceful souls. "That I cannot allow."

"Too bad you've no recourse to stop me," he said, turning back to the diamond.

Time for desperate measures. "Come on, Owen. Do you really think obtaining the Ice Moon would be this easy?"

He paused, but didn't look at me.

"You missed a critical defensive position."

"Your attempt to delay me is pathetic, Yelena." He reached to take the Ice Moon.

"You forgot to check the ceiling for guards. Captain Nytik attack!"

As expected, everyone looked up but me. I dove between two of the men. Rolling past the null shield, I raced toward Owen.

He grabbed the Ice Moon and held it high. "Stop or I'll drain the world's magic."

I didn't hesitate. Launching myself at him, I hit him square in the chest. We slammed to the floor.

The Ice Moon flew from his hands. It shattered against the wall, exploding into thousands of blue shards. That was...unexpected.

Owen scrambled to his feet. Shock turned to fury. "That wasn't the Ice Moon." He seized my shoulders, digging his fingers into my flesh. "You tricked me."

A slow clapping sounded behind him. Owen spun, reaching for his sword.

"Bravo," Valek said still clapping. He wore all black. A rope hung from the ceiling.

Relief and joy washed through me. I suppressed the desire to crush him in a hug.

"That was entertaining," Valek continued. "Although Yelena didn't trick you. That would have been the Commander's doing a long time ago."

Owen opened his mouth to speak, but, in one fluid motion, Valek hit him with a Curare-filled dart. When the drug paralyzed Owen's muscles, he toppled to the ground and his men bolted from the cavern.

When Valek didn't move, I gestured to the exit. "Shouldn't we--"

"No. It'll give Janco something to do. Otherwise he'll whine that he waited outside all this time and didn't have any fun."

"And Leif?"

"He's fine."

I wrapped my arms around Valek, squeezing him tight.

"Easy, love." He pulled back slightly. "You weren't worried? You saw my signs. Right?"

"Uh... I saw your signal that Owen is a liar, but that didn't help."

"And the other ones? The ones where I warned you that he can lie with his mind."

"Uh..."

"I guess someone needs a refresher course."

I snaked my hands under his shirt. "Yes, I definitely need to reacquaint myself."

"Not now. Janco is waiting."

"How did he get involved in all this?" I asked as I followed Valek from the mine.

Valek explained. "A lieutenant out on patrol sent a message to his superior officer about an odd group of travelers. Janco intercepted this messenger. He'd been on his way to MD-5 because he had felt something..."strange." Ari didn't come with him since he thought Janco's nausea was from overindulging at the pub."

I considered. "Janco's ability to sense magic is getting stronger the more he's exposed to it."

"Don't tell him that or he'll never leave Ixia."

I laughed, but sobered when I spotted Janco gleefully fighting Owen's men. "And what about Owen?"

"He won't leave Ixia alive."

Valek and I stopped at the Commander's Castle before returning to Sitia to finish our interrupted vacation. The Commander invited us into his war room. I hadn't been inside the round chamber in ages. The morning sun shone through the tall, thin stained glass windows that covered three-quarters of the round wall, painting the table and chairs with colorful light.

The Commander was impeccably dressed in his tailored uniform. More gray streaked his short hair since the last time I'd visited. We sat and chatted about mundane things for a while.

"Yelena, I wanted to thank you for stopping Owen Moon," the Commander said.

"What about the next person who wants to find the diamond?" I asked in concern. "You don't have the fake one anymore."

"I assure you the Ice Moon is in a safe and secure place."

I laced my fingers together. "Do you know how dangerous is it?"

"Yes. I'm well aware of its power. That's why it's unreachable. Don't worry, Yelena. Go and enjoy your time with my Security Chief. We have lots to do when he returns." The Commander gave Valek a pointed look before leaving the room.

Valek jumped to his feet. "I don't need to be told twice. Let's go."

But I remained sitting.

"What's wrong, love?"

"We had thought those glass prisons were safe and unreachable. And you know what happened to them."

"True." Valek considered. "These stained glass windows are beautiful. Aren't they?"

Confused, I glanced at him. "What are you talking about?"

He gestured to one of them. "The colors are exquisite. Like this brilliant blue. You can see that color in all the panes and adds a certain depth and power to the pattern."